Crosby Makes Huge Statement with First Shift

Sidney Crosby has lined up for the opening faceoff countless times throughout his career.
To see No. 87 glide up to center ice, hunched over and resting his stick on his legs before placing his blade in the blue dot right before the referee drops the puck, is about as routine as it gets.
But tonight, what Crosby did from there was anything but.

With the Penguins coming off a game where they narrowly escaped with a 7-6 win over New Jersey on Tuesday, the captain set the tone for their rematch with the Devils by scoring just 41 seconds into their 5-1 victory.
"I just think he was trying to make a huge statement to our team that we were going to respond the right way and that we weren't overly satisfied with the game before, even though we won," head coach Mike Sullivan said. "That, I think, is just a testament to his leadership."
It started when Crosby won that opening draw, and a few seconds later, threw a heavy check on Devils defenseman Ryan Murray. New Jersey then iced the puck, so the teams regrouped for another faceoff. Crosby won it again, and from there, was absolutely unstoppable.
The puck was drawn to him like a moth to a flame. He had one scoring chance at the blue paint, but it bounced behind the net. Crosby retrieved it and got it to linemate Jake Guentzel, who was able to regroup. Crosby then got a redirect attempt off of a shot from Brian Dumulin before the Devils finally gained possession.
It went to Devils forward Pavel Zacha in the slot, where Crosby stripped him of the puck, skated into the circle and put a shot past goalie Aaron Dell to open the scoring with his 19th of the season and cap off a masterful sequence.

After the game, Crosby said that you're always trying to set the tempo on the first shift of every game, but that there was extra motivation tonight after the way Tuesday left a bad taste in their mouths.
"I think coming off the last game, we weren't happy with our third period, obviously," Crosby said. "So I think we just wanted to have a good start and get in the right frame of mind, and it was nice to nice to get one early."
He certainly didn't stop there, as Crosby continued to be a dominant force for the rest of the game. Not only did he help set up Bryan Rust's goal by intercepting a pass in the defensive zone and quickly springing Guentzel out of the Penguins' end for a 2-on-1 rush; Crosby helped provide a sense of calm in the locker room and on the bench heading into the third period after the way last game ended.
On Tuesday, the Penguins entered the final frame with a 6-0 lead and exited it barely clinging onto victory. Tonight, they entered the final frame with a 5-1 lead that they would not relinquish.
"These guys have a quiet confidence about them. We have a fair amount of players here that know how to win, so those guys take charge in these circumstances," Sullivan said. "We have great veteran leadership in that regard. They just take charge. I think the rest of the team follows suit and I thought that's what happened tonight. It started with our captain. He was terrific all night long."
Crosby has been terrific all season long, really, putting together an MVP-worthy season at both ends of the ice as the Penguins have been decimated by injuries - most notably to Evgeni Malkin - while playing a condensed schedule.

"He's dynamic offensively, he's so good defensively," Sullivan said. "He makes the players around him better. He makes Jake a better player. He makes Rusty a better player. There's just nothing we can't ask him to do that he doesn't embrace. He's just such a valuable player."

One who should also be in the conversation for the Selke Trophy as the league's best two-way forward, as Sullivan told Penguins Radio Network's Josh Getzoff in Wednesday's episode of the Coach's Show.
"In my mind, I don't think there's a better two-way player in the game than Sid," Sullivan said. "When people look at Sid and his overall game, they never think of him on the defensive side of the equation. But when you look at how this team operates, certainly in my tenure here, Sid is the go-to guy on both sides of the puck in all the key situations.
"He's so critical to this team in in every aspect of it."